


Open for Business

by sinnerforhire



Series: 365 Days of J2 Fanfic [5]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Christmas Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 03:30:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8828665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinnerforhire/pseuds/sinnerforhire
Summary: When Jared's water cuts off on Christmas Day, he goes to the only place that's open, a coffee shop in the city run by the most gorgeous guy he's ever seen.





	

Jared stared at the faucet in disbelief. He tried turning the taps off and then on again, and still nothing. He had no water, and since it was 4:30 p.m. on Christmas Day, there was no point in calling the water company. There was also nowhere he could go to get a meal he could afford, since the only places that were open were fancy restaurants that required reservations and charged more than Jared was able to pay. 

Desperate, he got on his laptop and did a search for places open on Christmas Day. The movie theater was the first result, of course, and then the second was an article from the local newspaper. He clicked on that and brought it up. Skimming through it, he found what he expected, but then at the end it mentioned Brews & Chews, the coffee shop on 7th Street that had the cupcakes his friend Gen always raved about. Jared generally didn’t go that far into the city unless he had business, but at least he could afford a sandwich at a coffee shop. 

He knew the Uber prices would be ridiculous, so he decided to just walk. It wasn’t that cold, and it was about fifteen blocks away, which was a lot shorter than his five-mile morning runs, so he laced up his sneakers, pulled on his parka, and headed out.

The city was deserted. He passed six cars on his walk, and there were hardly any cars parked on the streets, either. It was fully dark by the time Jared arrived at the coffee shop.

He pushed open the door and heard a jingling bell sound from above his head. The shop was also empty, and there was no one even behind the bar, but after a moment the most gorgeous guy Jared had ever seen came through a door from the back room. His eyes lit up when he saw Jared. “Hi, welcome to Brews & Chews!” he said brightly. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll take a decaf coffee to start,” said Jared. “Medium size.”

The guy smiled. He had beautifully even white teeth, framed by plush pink lips that Jared was already imagining wrapping around his cock. And he had freckles, which Jared had never realized was a kink for him until now. His eyes were as green as the Christmas tree sitting at the edge of the counter, rimmed with the longest lashes Jared had ever seen on a guy. His hair was short and combed over to one side, and he had about a day’s worth of auburn stubble on his chin. He was stunning, and should have been modeling in Milan rather than pouring coffee and making sandwiches. “Coming right up,” he said, startling Jared out of his impure thoughts. “Anything to eat?”

“I’m working on it,” replied Jared. There were menus on the counter, so he picked one up.

The guy placed a steaming red, white, and green striped mug in front of him. It smelled heavenly. “Cream or sugar?”

“Both, please.” Jared smiled absently at the guy. “Can I get the cranberry chicken salad wrap and a bowl of the chicken corn chowder?”

The guy grinned at him. “Sure thing.” He tapped a few keys on the Square iPad register. “That’ll be five seventy-five.”

Jared frowned. “Are you sure?”

The guy grinned. “I gave you the holiday discount.”

Jared handed over a ten dollar bill. “Keep the change,” he said with a grin of his own.

“Much appreciated,” the guy replied, his grin getting even bigger. “I’m Jensen, by the way. I’ll have that out to you in a couple minutes.”

“Thanks, Jensen,” said Jared, grateful for the introduction. “I’m Jared.”

“Nice to meet you.” Jensen smiled over his shoulder as he headed into the back. “Have a seat, I’ll bring it out.”

Jared sat down at the bar, not wanting to make Jensen walk all the way to a table. There was a small Christmas tree at the corner of the bar and the counter with white lights and blue and silver balls and ribbons, and at the other end of the bar was a silver menorah and a wooden dreidel. 

Jensen returned with a steaming bowl of soup and his wrap on a plate decorated with holly leaves and berries. He set both in front of Jared. “This looks great, thanks,” said Jared. 

“Mind if I sit with you? I haven’t eaten yet either.”

“Sure,” replied Jared. “That’d be nice.”

Jensen disappeared into the back and returned with a bowl of what looked like chicken and dumplings. “That’s not on the menu,” teased Jared.

Jensen grinned. “I had this in the slow cooker yesterday. I brought the leftovers.” He claimed onto the barstool next to Jared. “I love cooking. I wish I got to do it more often, but cooking for one isn’t that much fun, so a lot of times I just take home soup or a sandwich from here.”

“You live alone?”

Jensen nodded. “Yeah, I work too hard to have a social life.”

Jared chuckled. “Me too. I work from home, but I start at 7 am because New York opens then, and I work till Seattle closes at 8 pm.”

“What do you do?” 

“I’m a marketing analyst,” answered Jared. “I do a lot of data analysis, running numbers.”

“You like that?” Jensen raised an eyebrow.

“I do,” said Jared with a smile. “I have a degree in accounting. I speak math the way other people speak Spanish or French.”

Jensen nodded. “That’s cool. I know just enough math to do the books and the baking. Speaking of which, I’ve got melted snowman cupcakes in the back. Would you like one for dessert?”

Jared nodded, grinning. “I’d love one.”

Jensen grinned back. “So, I’m guessing you live alone too. And you don’t cook much.”

“Yes and yes.” Jared shrugged. “I used to have a dog, but…”

Jensen nodded, understanding the unspoken end of the sentence. “You didn’t have anyone in for the holiday?”

Jared shook his head. “My family’s in San Antonio, and I’ve got to work tomorrow, so I didn’t have time to go home, and my friends are all out of town with their own families, so…yeah.”

“I know this is kind of forward,” said Jensen, looking down into his bowl, “but would you like to come back to my place and watch a movie or something? I’m in the same boat, and it’d be nice to have the company. I haven’t had many customers today—which I expected, don’t get me wrong—but it’s not exactly a fun way to spend a holiday.”

“I think I’d like that,” replied Jared, smiling.

Jensen’s face lit up. “Great! I’m closing at 6, so you can just hang out till I finish the cleanup. My place is just upstairs.”

“But you pretty much live in here, right?”

Jensen nodded. “Yeah, my friends all say I work too hard.”

“Do you have any help?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve got four part-time baristas,” said Jensen. “I just gave them all the day off. I knew I could handle it by myself. Hardly anyone comes in.”

“So why do you even open, then?”

Jensen took a deep breath. “I had a big falling-out with my folks when I was a teenager. As soon as I finished high school, they kicked me out. I know what it’s like to spend holidays alone, and I wanted to give people a place to come and hang out if they don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“That’s sweet of you,” said Jared. “Do many people take advantage of it?”

“A few,” said Jensen. “Mostly people who don’t celebrate Christmas, but every year I get a few couples that clearly aren’t welcome at family gatherings.”

Jared understood what Jensen was getting at, and he was relieved, because it meant his interest wasn’t purely one-sided. “My parents are cool with it,” said Jared. “I guess I’m luckier than most.”

“Well, it’s better than it used to be,” said Jensen. “But it _is_ Texas.”

Jared nodded. “Yeah, I guess. For what it’s worth, I think your family’s really missing out, because you seem like a great guy.”

Jensen’s cheeks turned pink. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “You’re not so bad yourself. It’s a shame you’re such a workaholic.”

“Well, just because I haven’t dated much in the past doesn’t mean I can’t start,” said Jared with a grin. “I mean, if you’re interested.”

Jensen grinned and covered Jared’s hand with his own. “I think we could work something out.” He pointed up at the ceiling. “Look up.”

Jared looked up to see a sprig of mistletoe hanging above their seats. “Well, look at that.”

Jared turned and cupped Jensen’s cheek, pulling him in for a kiss. Jensen’s lips turned up at the corners when they met Jared’s, and Jared couldn’t help reacting in kind. “Guess Santa decided I was a good boy,” he murmured.

“I think there’s still time to get on the naughty list,” Jared replied with a grin.

Jensen kissed him again. “Sounds like fun.”


End file.
